The Myth of a City
With time history becomes legend, and legend becomes myth. Troy is a myth, or supposed to be a very well-known myth all over the world though the Epics of Iliad and Odyssey written by the Greek Poet Homer
Troy, the Bronze Age ancient city is a myth, or supposed to be a very well-known myth all over the world though the epics of Iliad and Odyssey written by the Greek Poet Homer. Situated in Anatolia (modern day Turkey) it was the battle ground of Trojan War, a battle between the Greeks and the defenders of the city.
"If they ever tell my story let them say
that I walked with giants.
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Men rise and fall like the winter wheat,
but these names will never die.
Let them say I lived in the time of Hector, tamer of horses.
Let them say I lived in the time of Achilles."
And in front of me, there was the 5000-year-old mythical wall of Troy! With time history becomes legend, and legend becomes myth. Troy is a myth, or supposed to be a very well-known myth all over the world though the Epics of Iliad and Odyssey written by the Greek Poet Homer. Three thousand years after Homer, some amateur archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann went in search of Troy with the Iliad in hand. And he found it on the coast of present day Turkey!
So during my last visit to Turkey my long time desire to visit the Myth became real.
From Istanbul you can take a bus to Canakkale (320 km, 4 hours), and Troy (Truva or Trojain Turkish) is only 30 km from Canakkale. The local bus dropped us in the middle of nowhere, the kind driver just pointed at the horizon and showed 5 fingers of one hand, probably to indicate that Troy is five kilometers away that way!
We walked a long way in the high sun hoping for a taxi, and, eventually in the middle of the road there was a tractor driven by a young farmer with a broad smile, the guardian angel of the road! He heard the name Troy, and just waved to us to get onto his vehicle. His English was not very fluent but was still much better than my Turkish. In few minutes we reached the site of Troy.
I asked him very politely, 'How much should I pay you? How much?'
I repeated the question in English and sign language, by showing the universal sign of money. He started his tractor and said loudly with a warm smile 'No Much', and that created a real treasured memory. At the end of every travel you collect only memories and friends. I had no problem giving him a few dollars as fuel cost, but that unknown Turkish Samaritan gave us a free ride and that made our trip memorable.
Just after we entered through the main gate into an open space, there was a giant wooden horse with possibly the ugliest tail I have ever seen! Of course, the Trojan Horse is still remembered. It was built by the Greeks as a decoy for hiding super soldiers. Being curious I went inside the horse, and found that the interior was much bigger than it seemed from the outside. It had three floors! It was a unique experience to look at the ruins around me through the window near the head.
It was chilly even though it was midday, and history was in the air and everywhere. Our guide was shouting, "This is the wall of King Priam's Palace, he lived here for ages with his two sons, Hector and Paris."
Well, archaeologists have excavated enough to prove that this is the mythical city of Troy. It is surprisingly small, andmany things about it are still questionable. Did the battle actually take place in the plains of Scamander? Then why have no weapons ever been found? So many questions are still left to be answered.
